MARCUS HOOK >> A series of studies, one commissioned by Sunoco Logistics saying Pennsylvania could see a $4.2 billion boost from Marcellus Shale-related investments, are positioning Delaware County to be in pivotal location once some pipelines are fully flowing with ethane, propane and butane.

This week, Sunoco Logistics released the results of a study conducted by Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions Inc., which looked at the potential impact of the two phases of the Mariner East project and determined it could result in the multibillion economic stimulus, as well as 300 to 400 permanent jobs and another 30,000 during construction.

Earlier in the week, Delaware County Council announced its intention for its own study to identify the appropriate market for economic growth near the former refinery in Marcus Hook, as well as to find ways to attract additional business to the waterfront.

Sunoco Logistics has divided the Mariner East project into two components.

The first included a reversal of flow of a pipeline that formerly transported petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, from Marcus Hook west to an eastern flow to Marcus Hook, allowing for natural gas liquids to move from western Pennsylvania to Delaware County.

As part of that, the company built a 50-mile pipeline to connect Mark West Liberty’s Houston, Pa., fractionation plant to an existing pipeline in Delmont, Pa.

Through this, Sunoco anticipated to move 70,000 barrels of propane and ethane daily. Propane began moving to Marcus Hook late last year.

Then, Mariner East 2 consists of the construction of a 350-mile pipeline, at least 16 inches wide, to connect the Utica Shale in Ohio with the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex, allowing 275,000 additional barrels of natural gas liquids to be brought to Delaware County.

In anticipation of this flow, Sunoco Logistics plans to build two propane tanks with the capacity to hold 1.5 million barrels, a 600,000-barrel butane tank and a 300,000-barrel ethane tank in Marcus Hook.

In total, the company expects to invest about $3 billion in the state to move the shale by-products from western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to Marcus Hook, where they will be stored and distributed. After construction is completed, Sunoco Logistics anticipates spending between $60 million and $90 million each year to operate the Mariner East system.

The Econsult study said the annual economic impact statewide of the two Mariner East phases combined will be between $100 million and $150 million, supporting 290 to 440 jobs with earnings between $22 million and $33 million.

While the construction is occurring, about 30,000 full-time jobs will be created, of which, the earnings are expected to be $1.9 billion.

Of these jobs, about 46 percent, or 13,750 jobs, will be in the construction industry and the remaining 54 percent will involve other industries, such as architectural and engineering services, wholesale trade businesses and food services.

Representatives for the Laborers’ International Union of North America, whose members will be involved the pipeline construction, lauded the Econsult’s findings.

“(Laborers’ International Union of North America) members are trained and ready to build the Mariner East pipelines,” said Tony Seiwell, business manager for the Eastern Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council. “As residents of Pennsylvania, our members also welcome the economic benefits, tax revenue and affordable energy the pipelines will bring to the state. The Mariner East pipelines will be a lifeline to good union jobs with family supporting pay.”

Laborers’ International Union of North America Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager Dennis Martire touted the opportunity.

“Mariner East is an opportunity for Pennsylvania to make use of our own domestic resources, create thousands of family wage jobs and build our energy future,” he said.

One ancillary industry that would see a beneficial impact is shipping.

The Econsult report said the Marcus Hook facility took calls from 185 ships and 40 barges at its height in 2007. Six years later, there were 10 ship calls, moving 1.35 million barrels of propane and butane.

In 2016, the study says the site has the potential to take 144 ship calls, transporting 19.4 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

While Delaware County-specific statistics were not available, Jeffrey Shields, communications manager for Sunoco Logistics/Sunoco Inc., said the majority of investments and economic impact will occur in the southeastern Pennsylvania region.

Of the $62 million in state taxes expected to be generated over the two years of Mariner East construction, personal income taxes are estimated to be $38 million, sales and use taxes will result in $20 million and $4 million will come from business taxes.

Annually, Mariner East operations are estimated to create between $800,000 and $1.2 million in tax revenues to Pennsylvania.

These findings back what supporters of utilizing Marcellus Shale materials have been claiming for some time.

The Econsult report referenced a 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers report stating that by 2025, shale gas could add more than 1 million workers to the U.S. manufacturing industry, while simultaneously allowing manufacturers to decrease their materials and energy costs by $11.6 billion annually.